The Devil’s Knot secures cast with addition of three more

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Although the principals have been wrapped up, Atom Egoyan continues to cast his West Memphis 3 flick THE DEVIL’S KNOT…

Deadline has it that Matt Letscher (right) has joined the KNOT, set to play defense attorney “Paul Ford” in the big-screen recount of one of the grossest cases of injustice this country knows about. The Ford character represents Jason Baldwin (played by Seth Meriwether), one of the three teenagers accused of a triple homicide.

In addition, Bruce Greenwood and Michael Gladis have joined the cast, so says THR.

Greenwood will play Judge David Burnett, who presided over the trial in a manner that was later criticized as being biased as he disallowed dozens of reasonable objections and requests for witnesses by the defense and by acting like he believed the teens were guilty.

Gladis will play Dan Stidham, the defense attorney for suspect Jessie Misskelley Jr. (Kristopher Higgins).

Here’s how the rest shapes up:

Colin Firth will play Ron Lax, a private investigator who was the first pro bono supporter of the defendants as they headed to trial in 1993. Lax built one of the most prominent private investigative firms in the Southeast, and offered his services for free to the defendants, who at the time were reviled because of the heinous nature of the crime and the sensationalized reports about devil worship and ritualistic sacrifice.

Mireille Enos (below) will play Vicki Hutcheson, the mother of an 8-year-old boy who lives in a run-down house in West Memphis. She becomes an important witness in the murder trial of Damien Echols (Hamrick), Jason Baldwin (Meriwether) and Jessie Misskelley (Kris Higgins) for the killing of three 8-year-old boys found hog-tied in a drainage ditch. Hutcheson, it becomes apparent to investigators, could be the only link between Echols and Misskelley.

Alessandro Nivola will play Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of one of the young victims. It’s a pivotal role in the film; Hobbs is a controversial figure who has consistently denied any role in the murders but has come under suspicion in the 20 years since the crime was committed. He has never been charged and evidence against him is inconclusive. His relationship with his wife Pam Hobbs (Reese Witherspoon) forms the backbone of the story.